Township of Florence, NJ Article III Landlord Registration

[Adopted 4-5-2017 by Ord. No. 2017-05]

§ 116-29 Landlord registration required.

A. Registration required. No person(s), corporation or business entity shall offer any residential property for rent, lease or let any residential property to any person(s) without first obtaining a landlord registration certificate from the Township. The landlord registration form, which is required to be completed in order to obtain a landlord registration certificate, may be obtained from the Construction Code Official or his designee during normal business hours. Registration shall not be required for individual units contained within an entire structure containing three or more units that are owned by one person or party and where none of the individual units is a stand-alone parcel as defined by having a unique lot identifier on the tax rolls of the Township of Florence.

B. The initial registration shall occur within 30 days following the final adoption of this chapter. The initial term for the landlord registration certificate shall be for a term not to exceed 18 months, or December 31, 2018. Thereafter, the landlord registration certificate shall be renewed annually and amended, as necessary, within 20 days of each change of ownership or occupancy of any rental unit. No rental unit shall hereafter be rented unless the rental unit is registered in accordance with this chapter. The landlord registration certificate shall not include approval for the use and occupancy of a rental unit. Consistent with § 116-4 and § 116-5, a continued certificate of occupancy inspection is required for each unit. Such landlord registration certificate shall be granted or denied within 10 business days from the day of the application for the same to determine whether or not a continued certificate of occupancy (CCO), certifying that the building and premises are in compliance with all ordinances of the Township of Florence, shall first be obtained from the Construction Code Official or the appropriate official as designated by the governing body of the Township of Florence.

§ 116-30 Rental property registration.

A. The owner of every rental property, with the exception of owner-occupied properties in the Township of Florence shall file a landlord registration form with the Construction Code Official or his designee. The Construction Code Official or his designee shall provide a copy of same to the Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety, Township Clerk and Fire Chief. When providing a copy of same to any other person or entity requesting same, the Township Clerk, Construction Code Office and Fire and Police Departments shall redact the names and addresses, age and gender of the tenants.

B. The landlord registration form shall be filed on an annual basis on or before the 31st of January of each year.

C. Without in any way intending to infringe upon the requirements of N.J.S.A. 46:8-28, all rental units shall be registered and licensed as provided herein. Every owner shall file with the Construction Code Official or his designee a landlord registration form, for each unit contained within a building or structure, which shall include the following information:

(1) The name, address and telephone number of the owner or owners of the premises and the record owner or owners of the rental business, if not the same person(s). In the case of a partnership, the names and addresses of all general partners shall be provided, together with the telephone numbers for each individual partner, indicating where such individual may be reached both during the day and evening hours. If the record owner is a corporation, the name and address of the registered agent and corporate officers of said corporation shall be provided, together with the telephone number for each such individual, indicating where such individual may be reached both during day and evening hours. If the record owner is an LLC, the name and address of the managing member(s) shall be provided, for each such member, indicating where such member (or its principal officers if a corporation) may be reached both during day and evening hours. All registration addresses shall be physical addresses; post office boxes are insufficient.

(2) If the address of the owner of record is not located in the County of Burlington, the name, address and telephone number of a person who resides in the County of Burlington and who is authorized to accept notices from a tenant and to issue receipts therefor and to accept service of process on behalf of the owner of record.

(3) The name and address of the managing agent of the premises, if any, and the telephone number where such individual may be reached both during day and evening hours.

(4) The name and address of the superintendent, janitor, custodian or other individual employed by the owner of record or managing agent to provide regular maintenance service, if any, and telephone number where such individual may be reached both during day and evening hours.

(5) The name, address and telephone number and cellular telephone number of at least one individual representative of the owner of record or managing agent who may be reached or contacted at any time in the event of an emergency affecting the premises or any unit of dwelling space therein, including such emergencies as the failure of any essential service or system, and who has the authority to make emergency decisions concerning the building and any repair thereto or expenditure in connection therewith and shall, at all times, have access to a current list of building tenants that shall be made available to emergency personnel as required in the event of an emergency.

(6) The names and addresses of all holders of recorded mortgages on the property.

(7) The owner shall be obligated to supply the required fuel type or energy utilized by the heating system and maintain said heating system in good operating condition so that it can supply heat as required, notwithstanding any contractual provision seeking to delegate or shift responsibility to the occupant or third person, except that the owner shall not be required to supply fuel or energy for heating purposes to any unit where the occupant thereof agrees in writing to supply heat to his own unit of dwelling space and the said unit is served by its own exclusive heating equipment for which the source of heat can be separately computed and billed.

(8) For each such rental unit the landlord shall provide:

(a) A description by number or letter and floor of each such rental unit.

(b) The name, age and gender of each and every tenant in each unit, including children. The information contained in the landlord registration form must set forth information for each unit within the rental property and must include all tenants in each unit.

(c) The square footage of living space within each such rental unit and the number of rooms.

(d) Provide a detailed floor plan with the exact number of sleeping rooms contained in each rental unit and the exact number of sleeping accommodations contained in each of the sleeping rooms, identifying each sleeping room specifically by number and location within the apartment or dwelling and by the square footage thereof. This information shall be provided with the initial landlord registration form and shall be updated as part of the annual renewal process should the floor plan change. If no changes to the floor plan were made during the course of the preceding year, then the registrant shall not be required to submit an updated floor plan.

(e) Whether such rental unit is equipped with a kitchen.

(f) Whether the rental unit is equipped with a fire-suppression or fire sprinkler system, a fire extinguisher, a carbon monoxide alarm, a smoke detector alarm, fixed fire escape ladders or systems for emergency egress.

(g) The term on the lease and a copy of the current continued certificate of occupancy (CCO).

(h) A copy of the most recent valid certificate of inspection issued by the State of New Jersey Bureau of Housing, Department of Community Affairs, if applicable.

(i) A certification as to who is paying the property taxes and water/sewerage charges.

(j) The information referenced in Subsections C(8)(a) through (i) hereof may be provided by attaching the landlord registration statement mandated by N.J.S.A. 46:8-28 certifying that the information contained therein remains true and accurate or, in the event of any change, amend said registration certificate accordingly.

(k) A copy of the completed Federal Lead Based Paint Disclosure Form, if applicable.

(l) Such other information as may be prescribed by the Township on the appropriate landlord registration form or otherwise by ordinance or resolution.

§ 116-31 Amended registration certificate.

Every person required to file a landlord registration form pursuant to this chapter shall file an amended registration form within 20 days after any change in the information required to be included thereon. No fee shall be required for the filing of an amendment, except where the ownership of the premises has changed.

§ 116-32 Occupancy of unregistered premises prohibited.

No person shall hereafter occupy any rental unit, nor shall the owner permit occupancy of any rental unit within the Township, which is not registered and licensed and for which a registration certificate has not been issued in accordance with this article.

§ 116-33 Issuance of landlord registration certificate.

A. Upon the filing of a completed landlord registration form, payment of the prescribed fee, and a satisfactory inspection, when required and as necessary, the owner shall be entitled to the issuance of a certificate commencing on the date of issuance and expiring on December 31 of that calendar year. A landlord registration form shall be required for each rental unit, and a landlord registration certificate shall be issued to the owner for each rental unit, even if more than one rental unit is contained in the property.

B. At the time of the filing of the registration form, the owner or agent of the owner must pay a registration fee as provided in Chapter 2, Fees. After the initial registration, there shall be no fee for an amended registration regarding a change of occupancy; the registration fee for a change of ownership is as provided in Chapter 2, Fees.

C. Providing registration form to occupants and tenants. Every owner shall provide each occupant or tenant occupying a rental unit with a copy of the landlord registration form required by this article. This particular provision shall not apply to any hotel, motel or guest house registered with the State of New Jersey pursuant to the Hotel and Multiple Dwelling Act as defined in N.J.S.A. 55:13A-3. This section may be complied with by posting a copy of the landlord registration certificate in a conspicuous place within the rental unit(s).

D. Maximum number of occupants; posting. The maximum number of occupants shall be posted in each rental unit. It shall be unlawful for any person, including the owner, agent, tenant or registered tenant, to allow a greater number of persons than the posted maximum number of occupants to sleep in or occupy overnight the rental unit for a period exceeding 29 days. Any person violating this section shall be subject to the penalty provisions of § 116-9 of this chapter.

E. Only those occupants whose names are on file with the Township as required in this section may reside in the licensed premises. It shall be unlawful for a nonregistered person to reside in said premises and any owner, agent, tenant or registered tenant allowing a nonregistered person to reside in said premises and the nonregistered person shall be in violation of this subsection.

§ 116-34 Inspections.

A. Complaint-based inspections, inspection following a finding of nonvalid continued certificate of occupancy and/or those inspections required as a result of a finding of no prior continued certificate of occupancy, shall be performed by such person, persons or agency duly authorized and appointed by the Township pursuant to the direction of the Construction Code Official. Inspections made by persons or an agency other than the duly authorized and appointed person, persons or agency of the Township shall not be used as a valid substitute.

B. Such inspection shall be for purpose of determining if the property complies with the Uniform Construction Code, the current Township Property Maintenance Code, housing code and/or building code and the Uniform Fire Safety Act. Upon compliance, the Construction Code Official shall cause to be issued a landlord registration certificate pursuant to the provisions of this article.

C. Unsatisfactory inspection. In the event that the inspection(s) of a rental unit indicates the need for maintenance and/or repairs, such property shall not thereafter be registered, and the landlord of the property, or his agent, shall not lease or rent such property, nor shall any tenant occupy the property, until the necessary maintenance, repairs and corrections have been made so as to bring the property and rental unit into compliance with the applicable code(s) and the property is thereafter subsequently reinspected, approved, registered and licensed. In the event that the property is occupied when such conditions are discovered, all such corrections shall be made within 30 days, and if not made within that time period, the owner shall be deemed in violation of this article and every day that the violation continues shall constitute a separate and distinct violation, subject to the penalty provisions of § 116-19 of this chapter.